The Roanoke Lifehttp://doloresfarmer.com
Life in Virginia's Roanoke Valley and BeyondWed, 27 May 2015 19:30:34 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.3.18http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/09/13/1367/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/09/13/1367/#commentsFri, 13 Sep 2013 13:33:04 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1367The post appeared first on The Roanoke Life.
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]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/09/10/roanoke-va-mountains/feed/0Roanoke Homes: The Cost of Waitinghttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/08/27/roanoke-homes/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/08/27/roanoke-homes/#commentsTue, 27 Aug 2013 14:49:54 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1346If you were thinking about buying a house last year, but didn’t, it will very likely cost you more to get the same house this year. Assuming a loan of $250,000, at 3.5 percent interest, your principal and interest payment last year would have been $1122.61. According to the Roanoke Valley MLS statistics, homes in […]

]]>If you were thinking about buying a house last year, but didn’t, it will very likely cost you more to get the same house this year. Assuming a loan of $250,000, at 3.5 percent interest, your principal and interest payment last year would have been $1122.61. According to the Roanoke Valley MLS statistics, homes in the Roanoke area went up in price by an average of 7.0% between July 2012 and July 2013. During the same time period, mortgage rates went up to about 4.5%. By waiting a year, it will cost an additional $232.77 a month for the same house, if you take into account the increase in home price and the higher mortgage rates. That’s almost $2,800 a year more.

My reason for pointing this out isn’t to discourage you from buying this year. You might be thinking to yourself, “my friend got a 3.5 percent interest rate and now I’m stuck with a 4.5 percent. Maybe now is not the time to buy because I’m paying almost a full point more than my friend paid 12 months ago.”

Well let’s put this in perspective. During the last four decades—1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013—let’s take a look at the monthly payment on a $250,000 mortgage. Take a minute to So even though you might be paying more than your friend paid last year, let’s take a look at what you’d be paying compared to 1983, 1993, 2003.

Source: Keeping Current Matters

From a historical perspective, you’re still doing really well! We don’t have a crystal ball, and can’t tell you exactly where prices and rates will be this time next year. If this trend continues, though, you’re much better off to buy now.

My job is as Director of Technology/Education, and I work with a fabulous group of real estate agents at Prudential Premier REALTORS in Roanoke and Botetourt. Every one of them is qualified and enthusiastic about assisting with a home purchase. Visit our website to search for Roanoke area homes, or call 540-343-5000 in Roanoke or 540-966-3033 in Botetourt. We’d be delighted to help you.

Congratulations to the Prudential Premier, REALTORS agents, family and friends who ran in the Blue Ridge Marathon (and half-marathon) on April 20, 2013! Prudential Premier co-owner Beth Wilson completed the half-marathon with friend Peggy Stancil; they enjoyed the day and saw long hours of training pay off.

Vanessa and Fred Wall of Roanoke

Prudential Premier agent Fred Wall and his wife Vanessa also competed, successfully finishing the half-marathon in 2:27. Fred and Vanessa are already working on plans to compete again in 2014.

The Blue Ridge Marathon is widely considered to be America’s toughest road marathon, which was evident from the course. It included 3,620 feet of total elevation gain and 7,234 feet of total elevation change; a true challenge for just about anyone!

The date for next year’s Blue Ridge Marathon has been set: April 26, 2014.

]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/24/roanokes-blue-ridge-marathon/feed/0Roanoke VA Homes: Free Homeowner’s Insurance Apphttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/17/roanoke-va-homes-homeowners-insurance/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/17/roanoke-va-homes-homeowners-insurance/#commentsWed, 17 Apr 2013 10:14:31 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1270by Dolores Farmer Most people know that it’s important to have a “home inventory,” to lessen your chances of a disagreement with your insurance company about replacement of personal property under your homeowner’s insurance policy. If the thought of completing an inventory is daunting, read on. Easy Home Inventory What you might not know is […]

by Dolores Farmer Most people know that it’s important to have a “home inventory,” to lessen your chances of a disagreement with your insurance company about replacement of personal property under your homeowner’s insurance policy. If the thought of completing an inventory is daunting, read on.

Easy Home Inventory

What you might not know is that there’s a free app designed to assist you in making that inventory, available for both iPhone and Android. It’s provided by the Insurance Information Institute, and is called “IIIinventory.” The easiest way to locate the App is to navigate to https://www.knowyourstuff.org, and scan the QR Code they provide in the App’s section. It will take you to the download page. You’ll need a free account on the website, because the App syncs the inventory made with your phone to the main website. The app guides you through entering each item, room by room, and you can take photos as you go.

In Summary

With any luck, you’ll never need the home inventory, but it’s a good thing to do. It’s the type of project that nobody likes to take on, but everyone is happy to have it when they need it.

]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/17/roanoke-va-homes-homeowners-insurance/feed/0Roanoke VA Homes: April Infographichttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/02/roanoke-va-homes-april-infographic/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/04/02/roanoke-va-homes-april-infographic/#commentsTue, 02 Apr 2013 10:30:35 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1264April 2013 continued to bring improvements to the Roanoke real estate market. The Absorption Rate in March 2012 was 12.11 months but it dropped to 10.27 months in March 2013. Home inventory in the Valley remains high, but overall it is dropping, meaning prices will likely rise if demand remains steady or increases. Average list price in the Valley […]

]]>April 2013 continued to bring improvements to the Roanoke real estate market. The Absorption Rate in March 2012 was 12.11 months but it dropped to 10.27 months in March 2013. Home inventory in the Valley remains high, but overall it is dropping, meaning prices will likely rise if demand remains steady or increases. Average list price in the Valley was $283,040 in March 2013, up from $272,278 in March 2012. Residential homes in and around Roanoke averaged 131 days on the Market in March 2013. There were 3158 homes for sale in and around the Valley as of 4/2/13, according to the Roanoke MLS. For more facts about the Roanoke housing market, see the Infographic.

]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/03/25/roanoke-va-homes-feb-2013-update/feed/0Botetourt County Homeshttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/03/08/botetourt-county-homes/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/03/08/botetourt-county-homes/#commentsFri, 08 Mar 2013 16:17:24 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1212by Dolores Farmer Botetourt County real estate is doing well! See the March 2013 market update for some interesting facts about the recent market. How’s the Market for Botetourt Homes? One area we looked at for the report is “sales by price range.” The price range with the most sales is $200,000-$250,000, with 8 sales […]

by Dolores Farmer Botetourt County real estate is doing well! See the March 2013 market update for some interesting facts about the recent market.

How’s the Market for Botetourt Homes?

One area we looked at for the report is “sales by price range.” The price range with the most sales is $200,000-$250,000, with 8 sales from 1/1/13-2/28/13. This represents a 33% increase from the same time period in 2012. The $400,000 to $500,000 price range is also doing well, with 7 sales, representing a whopping 600% increase over 2012. The over $500,000 range, and $100,000 to $120,000 range have experienced drops over 2012. See the infographic for more details about the home market in Botetourt County.

For more market updates and various real estate charts for the Roanoke Valley, visit Prudential Premier’s Google Plus page. Prudential Premier will be opening a new Botetourt County office at 1638 Roanoke Road in Daleville in April of this year (2013.) Some of the best real estate agents in Botetourt will be working out of the office.

]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/03/08/botetourt-county-homes/feed/0Roanoke Real Estate: Info-graphichttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/02/27/roanoke-real-estate-watching-the-real-estate-recovery/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/02/27/roanoke-real-estate-watching-the-real-estate-recovery/#commentsWed, 27 Feb 2013 23:47:03 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1185 by Dolores Farmer Roanoke real estate is recovering nicely! Click on the info-graphic (below) one time to enlarge it, then click a second time on the “enlarge button” (see photo, above) and it will become the intended size. The info-graphic compares early 2012 to early 2013. Categories include “days to sell,” “number of contracts written,” “list […]

by Dolores Farmer Roanoke real estate is recovering nicely! Click on the info-graphic (below) one time to enlarge it, then click a second time on the “enlarge button” (see photo, above) and it will become the intended size. The info-graphic compares early 2012 to early 2013. Categories include “days to sell,” “number of contracts written,” “list to sales price ratio,” “dollar volume of homes sold,” and “number of homes sold.” It will be updated again as soon as February closes out, and figures can be obtained.

Interested in specific properties?

]]>http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/02/27/roanoke-real-estate-watching-the-real-estate-recovery/feed/0Roanoke Times-Best of SWOCOhttp://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/02/25/roanoke-times-best-of-swoco/
http://doloresfarmer.com/blog/2013/02/25/roanoke-times-best-of-swoco/#commentsMon, 25 Feb 2013 10:48:22 +0000http://doloresfarmer.com/?p=1177Please, help us win! Prudential Premier, REALTORS is in the running for an award (Best of SWOCO) that is widely recognized in this area. The voting is conducted by the Roanoke Times newspaper, and we need votes for “Best Local Real Estate Company.” IMPORTANT: The poll requires that you vote in at least 5 categories in […]

Please, help us win! Prudential Premier, REALTORS is in the running for an award (Best of SWOCO) that is widely recognized in this area. The voting is conducted by the Roanoke Times newspaper, and we need votes for “Best Local Real Estate Company.” IMPORTANT: The poll requires that you vote in at least 5 categories in order for your vote to count. (We are category #46-Prudential Premier REALTORS.) Please help us win…thank you so much!! http://blogs.roanoke.com/swoco/bestof2013/